Five Tips for Successful E-newsletter Marketing Campaigns
Sending an e-newsletter is a form of Direct Marketing as it's going directly from you to your audience. Sending regular e-newsletters is an affordable way to gain brand exposure. Some of the other benefits are: to keep your brand on top of mind, to create an easy way for your audience to refer you to others and finally, to push relevant information which will add to your credibility within your industry.
1. Be above the fold. The most important information in your e-newsletter needs to be visible to your audience without them having to scroll. We should also mention that the general pattern the readers' eyes will take is in the form of a "F." Therefore, always put your text first and images secondary.
2. Be consistent. If you think people won't notice that you just sent out an e-newsletter a week ago, think again. Without consistency you run the risk of your audience opting out of your e-newsletters. Mainly because they will fear getting e-mailed too often. Avoid being considered as "spam," send your e-newsletters the same dates and times from month to month. Open rates tend to be best mid-week. Mondays are often too busy and on the weekends your audience is busy!
3. Be relevant. Just like giving a report or presentation your information must be up to date. As equally important as timely information is the information itself. Stick to your industry and to what you know. A general rule of thumb in marking is that you should avoid trying to be all things to all people. If you're a financial company talking about fashion you're going to lose your own sense of brand identity and lose your audience in the process.
4. Be short and sweet. Do not include an entire blog post or article in your e-newsletter. You audience will not read it in its entirety. Provide a snip-it of information, just enough to grab their attention and then provide a link to your blog, website or other landing page. This also helps integrate other important sites you want your audience to see. Be sure to include links to your social media sites as well as provide an easy way for readers to contact you or schedule appointments.
5. Be kind. Respect your audiences' inbox. Typically one e-mail a month is sufficient, twice should be the max. Plan accordingly if you are promoting an event, find other ways to get the word out rather than an e-mail reminder every week leading up to your big day.